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WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. -- State Sen. George Latimer (D-Rye) and Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo are praising the decision not to mail physical checks for the "Family Tax Relief Credit."

In Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's 2014-15 proposed State Budget, the $350 family tax credit will be turned into a tax credit available to families rather than a tax rebate check beginning in 2015.

Estimates have had the cost of sending physical checks to those who qualify as high as $2 million per year. Making the money available to families "will allow them to access it faster (claimable when filing taxes) than if they had to wait for the physical check to come in the mail later in the fall," representatives said in a press release.

"I am pleased to see that the governor has included this change in his budget proposal," said Lupardo (D-Endwell) in the release. "If we're going to provide this relief to New York's hard working families, it should be done in the most efficient way possible."

Latimer said the decision allows government to run more efficiently.

"To make government run as efficiently and inexpensively as possible, we had proposed a cost effective way to administer the distribution of tax rebates while still achieving the same result: lowering taxes for middle class families," Latimer said. "I'm happy to see that Governor Cuomo has included this idea in part of the budget allowing hard-earned tax dollars to be spent in better, more productive ways."

Latimer and Lupardo have filed legislation (S4745/A6926) that will require the Tax and Finance Department to make the tax credit available when a taxpayer files his or her return for the taxable year, according to the release.